The Forgotten Edda
by IgorTheVicious
Summary: This is the story of Eric, a man who finds an Eddas, lost to the ages of time and forgotten. Though finding it will be the least of Eric's worries as a series of un-explainable events unfold and he is cast back in time to prevent a catastrophic turn of events from happening in both his real life and within in The Forgotten Eddas itself.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

A torch light flickered fitfully in the grim darkness, the sound of dripping water echoing from somewhere deep in the recesses of a damp and chilly cave. Two men, sitting around what could only be described as a crude and not very well lit camp fire. One, was cooking as the other set about sketching and writing notes in to a leather bound book, taking long and well thought out notes as he stared endlessly and without any care to his current surroundings.

The pictures the man was staring at depicted a somewhat vicious and crudely drawn battle waged long before these men had ever been thought of. Squinting as he stared at the drawings on the cave walls, the man without even looking over his shoulder spoke to his counterpart.

" Marcus.. what do you make of this? These drawings I mean.. what do you think they mean?"

Looking up briefly from the cooking he was concocting, Marcus slowly rose to his feet, brushing the dust and dirt from the back of his trousers as he slowly made his way over to his long time friend.

Not really being able to make much of the drawings due to the lack of sufficient light in the cave, Marcus went back and picked up one end of a burning branch and brought it back over to the cave wall. Shining the burning branch up and down and across the length of the wall, Marcus slowly and thoughtfully studied the drawings on the cave wall.

" I'm not really sure Eric... these men here are clearly fighting, though the crudeness of the drawing makes it difficult to interpret what those things they are holding actually are."

Studying the drawings even further, Marcus and Eric spent hour upon hour looking up and down the wall, comparing their notes and sketching what they could as best as they could. Taking very careful and well thought out notes on what the drawings could mean.

Hours seemed to pass as Marcus and Eric continued their study of the ancient drawings on the cave wall. Stretching and yawning exhaustedly, Marcus placed his hand calmly on Eric's shoulder.

" We've done all we can for the day my friend. We need to sleep for tomorrow we venture deeper in to this dark abyss and hopefully find some more interesting things while we are here."

Eric looked at Marcus, the bags under his eyes giving a clear indication that he too was beginning to feel the toll of staying awake for so long to study their first find on their venture.

Nodding in agreement, Eric closed his notebook and slid his pencil in to his shirt pocket as he made his way slowly over to where Marcus had lit the crude fire hours before.

" I think we neglected our fire my friend, there aren't nothing but embers left now for us to keep ourselves warm."

Marcus laughed a little to himself as he too inspected what was left of their fire. Looking around for any loose kindling or bits of twig that he could find to stoke the fire with a little bit to get it burning a bit better before they went to sleep.

Marcus fell asleep with almost immediate effect as his head hit his rolled up coat, Eric, on the other hand tossed and turned fitfully on the uneven and hard ground. His years living in a comfortable society had softened him a lot. Finally, Eric gave in and sat up right, yawning as he stretched his arms out as far as he could before rubbing his eyes and letting out a long drawn out sigh as he saw that Marcus was happily snoring away across the fire from him.

Staring blankly in to the grim darkness of the cave, thinking about what could possibly be down here after so many years. But one thing was certain in Eric's mind, If there was anything to be found further down the seemingly endless darkness of the cave, either he or Marcus would be the ones to find it.

It must have been at least six or seven hours later when Eric felt a light touch on his shoulder. As he opened his eye's Eric realised he must have finally drifted off to sleep as he was now staring up at Marcus wide eyed and some what unsure of how long he had actually been asleep.

"Come on Eric, it's time to get moving, we have a fair amount of work to be done today. I'll get breakfast on the go while you shake out them sleepy cobwebs."

Sitting upright, Eric wiped his eye's and looked around him as he reached in to his pocket and pulled out a packet of cigarettes, lighting one up as he watched Marcus dig around in their supply bag for their breakfast.

Taking a long drag of his cigarette as he pulled his notebook out from under his make shift pillow which was nothing more than his dirty jacket. Eric started to then sift through the pages staring it seemed at his rough sketches and notes. Again without looking up from his book, Eric spoke.

"How far down this cave are we going today Marcus? Until we find something of interest? Or until we fall out of the ends of the earth in to Australia?"

Smiling a bit to himself as he said it, Eric looked up briefly from his book at Marcus who had found something edible for breakfast it seemed and was also smiling as he then dug out something to cook their food on.

"I'm not entirely sure my friend. It would seem like we found something interesting here, though neither of us are qualified enough to give a proper assessment of the find. We will have to wait until we get home and the university professors can review exactly what it is we did find."

Eric at that point had stopped reading through his notebook and looked up with an anguished look on his face as Marcus mentioned university professors.

"Do we really have to report this to those over stuffed bureaucrats back home?.. why can't we just take our finds to someone who is more willing to actually look at our finds and helps us understand what they mean?"

Closing his notebook and standing up, Eric moved closer to the fire, warming his hands a little as he watched his breakfast cook on the open fire. Looking in to the fire endlessly as the flames flickered and danced, the wood crackling as it burned.

"I mean, lets be honest Marcus. The university professors won't even take a second glance at this stuff. The Viking period of history is full of what they like to call "myth and legend" when what we are seeing is contrary to what is actually known of that time and era. Those plump morons wouldn't even be able to date half of the finds we have already, we have been at this for five months now and we have barely even started cataloguing what we have already."

Marcus looked up from the fire from time to time as he listened intently to what Eric was saying. He knew as well as anyone, the Professors back home would never really take much interest in the finds, as Eric had quite rightly pointed out, there was never really any good evidence to support the theory that Viking gods and goddesses were actually real or that the rituals performed by specific members of a Viking society had any basis in fact. That was of course, in Marcus' mind, Until recently when he and Eric had discovered an artefact that could only have come from the Viking era.

Looking up from the cooking he was doing, Marcus looked at Eric and smiled lightly to himself as he saw his friend staring aimlessly in to the flames.

"You might be right there old friend, but who can we take our findings too if not the university professors?.. I know only a few people who would be interested in these finds and they would all want to sell these to the highest bidder on the treasure markets."

Eric at this point was smiling to himself as he squatted down near to the fire and began to remember a certain person who he had not seen or spoken to for quite some time. He laughed a little to himself as he recalled a fond memory of this person from his childhood. Marcus confused a little bit, stared at his friend wondering what was so funny.

Neglecting the cooking, Marcus looked at Eric for a while longer, before asking what was on his mind.

"Care to share the funny thing on your mind old friend?"

Eric at this point had snapped out of what seemed to be an endless trance like recollection of his fond memory. He looked over at Marcus, shaking his head slightly to adjust his eyesight back to the dim light of the fire in the darkness. He half chuckled to himself as he rubbed his hands together and stared in to the flames again before speaking.

"Sorry Marcus. I was recalling a fond memory of a man I think would have a serious interest in what we find down here. Though I'm not entirely sure where he is. I haven't seen or spoken to him for a very long time."

Marcus raised an eyebrow in curious anticipation of the revelation of the person Eric was talking about as he stoked the fire a little more and grabbed a couple of crude metal plates from his backpack. Slapping their meagre breakfast on to the plates and handing one to Eric, he sat back against a rock and began to eat as Eric continued on.

"This guy.. for all intents and purposes, is the very reason I became and archaeologist. He's the reason I've taken such a keen interest in the history of Vikings and proving that they were anything but myth and legend."

Marcus began to feel a little tense as Eric drawled on about his friend. All Marcus was really interested in was his name and whether or not he could be trusted with the finds.

"Spit it out man!.. What's his name and can we trust him?"

Eric looked a little startled at the sudden outburst that came from Marcus. He recoiled slightly almost dropping his plate on the ground as he stared blankly at him for a moment in a little shock. Pulling himself together, Eric shook his head a little more and played with the food on his plate.

"That was sure unexpected of you Marcus, you're not usually so grumpy in the mornings. But I can understand your eagerness to know is he is trustworthy of looking at our finds. Believe me, this guy is perfectly trustworthy.."

Playing with his food a little more, Eric looked down at the flames of their crude fire again and spoke only two words.

"Gregory... Bell.."


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

Manoeuvring slowly through the cave, Eric and Marcus came to what appeared to be a dead end. Shining the crude torch they had fashioned from a thick branch and oil around the area, they seemed to be stuck at an impassable wall of rock and stone which had collapsed in on it self at sometime over the years. Scanning the area again and again, Eric finally gave up and leant against the wall and sighed heavily to himself as Marcus pressed his hands against the dead end probing for any loose rocks or stone that could be pried loose to get a look at what could be on the other side.

"Leave it Marcus.. that collapse would take us far too long to excavate safely and properly... face it.. we are going to have to turn back with what we have already and hope that something useful can be screened from it.."

As Marcus listened to what Eric was saying, he kept probing at the collapse until he unknowingly pressed his hand against a loose rock to the left side of the collapse and pushed it all the way through until he heard a loud enough thud on the other side that seemed to echo through out the entire cave. Even Eric could not deny that he had heard the thud of rock meeting dirt.

"It would appear we have the makings of a makeshift entrance on the cards here Eric.."

Marcus could not help but smile as he said it as he then began to probe against the rock and stone around the hole he had already made, searching for any more lose ones that could be pushed through or at least moved out of the way. Eric had moved to Marcus' side, grabbing Marcus' torch and shining them as best he could to give Marcus as much light as possible.

Prying more and more rock free from the collapse, he stopped and breathed in deeply as he wiped his brow. Catching his breath for a moment, Marcus moved to begin again but before he could, he stopped in his tracks as he could hear a low rumble echoing through the cave, the ground beginning to shake and quiver under their feet.

"MARCUS! RUN!"

Eric shouted as he could see the collapse in the ceiling begin to tremble and collapse again. The hole Marcus had made previously had been refilled with rock and stone but it did not stay closed off for very long. As Marcus and Eric ran away from the collapse in the wall they did not see the top fall away from the rest of the collapse as it slowly but surely crumbled and flattened.

The entire area by now was fogged in a choking combination of kicked up dust and dirt, the visibility was virtually gone as Marcus and Eric picked themselves up, coughing and choking on the thick smog of dust as it swirled around them. Their torches held aloft, they made their way slowly toward where the collapse had been not a few moments earlier. As they slowly approached the collapse, they could both begin to feel what they could only surmise was a light breeze emanating from the other side of the collapse though this was short lived as if out of nowhere a hefty wind began to circulate through the entire area. Taking cover behind a large boulder, they waited for only a few moments as the strong wind dissipated completely.

Looking at each other for a moment they both began to laugh a little as they wiped the dirt off of their faces as best they could.

"That.. was a very close call my friend.. perhaps next time we take things slowly when it comes to collapsing walls.."

Marcus laughed a little more at that point and sighed to himself with a feeling of relief at the close encounter they had just lived through.

"I think you may be right on that note Eric but this time it paid off to be curious and I think we can carry on with what we are really here for.."

Eric looked at Marcus and placed a hand on his shoulder, smiling a little as he then looked to where the collapse had been and began to see what he thought was a faint light emanating from somewhere in the next area of the cave. Eric's expression changed to one of pure curiosity as he moved passed Marcus, moving with a purpose it seemed as he gave no heed to the overly large log hanging above their heads. Marcus however did notice it as he looked around the area with a seeming glibness which quickly turned in to panic as his eye's fell upon the death trap which looked as if it was about to be tripped.

Completely unaware of what was about to happen, Eric pushed on through the dimly lit cave. As he was about to move in to the open area of the cave which was blocked by the collapse in the ceiling, Eric was roughly tackled to the ground as out of nowhere he thought a very large and hefty sized trap whizzed over his head and began to swing negligently back and forth. Marcus, picking himself up dusting himself down as he looked down at Eric, frowned and offered his hand to his friend to help him up.

"You really should remember that most of the places we have been to have been places that were not supposed to be re-opened again Eric.."

Sighing to himself, he put a caring hand on Eric's shoulder and smiled lightly at his long time friend before gently patting him on the cheek with a certain amount of sarcasm.

"Your welcome by the way.. and now we're even.."

Smiling still, Marcus pushed past Eric and looked around the enormous underground cavern that they had stumbled in to, taking in every little detail his eyes fell upon as he stood and twirled almost in a circle laughing to himself as he spread his arms out as wide as he could.

"This is amazing! All our hard work has finally paid off Eric!"

Still spinning on the spot, something caught Marcus' eye and he stopped suddenly. His facial expression changing from exalted triumph to one of pure and utter curiosity. Slowly he began to walk towards what it was that had caught his attention. He thought to himself that if he was spinning any faster he may not have seen it. Motioning to Eric to join him, Marcus edged ever closer to the object which seemed to glow slightly in the dim light of the cavern. Joining him, Eric shined the light only momentarily as their eyes fell upon a long dead Viking still in his battle armour it seemed.

Stepping back in shock as neither of them had initially seen the skeleton, who it seemed was sat upright against what they thought to be some sort of obelisk type rock. It's peculiar shape and position was what gave them the initial idea of what it was. As they pulled their attention back to what the dead Viking was holding, they both began to feel as if they were being watched from somewhere. Moving the dead hand and taking the object from his grasp, Eric blew the dust off of it gently, and looking it over speculatively as Marcus picked up the war axe of the dead Viking and lofted it around a bit without really being aware of his surroundings.

Swinging the axe over his head Marcus unintentionally struck the giant stone obelisk like rock. Nothing seemed to happen for quite some time after that but that all changed when the rock began to crack and shatter. Stepping back in shock, Eric clutching the old book to his chest and Marcus bringing his guard up forgetting that he had a dead man's weapon in his hands.

They both looked on, helpless to what was happening to the obelisk. As it shattered completely and fell to the ground in pieces, Marcus' eye's widened and Eric's jaw dropped suddenly as they stared in sheer amazement at what lay behind the obelisk. Throwing one of the torches down the long corridor which the obelisk was blocking, the dim torch light flickered against what they surmised were shiny objects in the next room.

Carefully placing the old book they had found on the dead man, Eric and Marcus slowly approached the entrance of the corridor and peered in. What they could see they thought was completely impossible, no one had ever found one intact, they had always been found looted and destroyed. Slowly making their way down the corridor and in to the next room, Marcus stopped first and Eric stood beside him.

"Eric.. are you seeing.. what I'm seeing.."

Utterly speechless all Eric could do was nod, his jaw still agape at the fact that they had once again struck the mother load of archaeological finds. The things they could learn from this were unimaginable.

" Eric... this is an intact burial chamber of a king!... this is absolutely amazing!"

Rushing forward to the skeleton which lay regally on a large stone alter, his battle armour on and his long broad sword laying length ways down it's body, the hilt up near the chin and it's hands clasped in repose over the flat of the blade.

To one side of his head there were sacks, bulging it seemed as if they were filled with a lot of things. To the other side of his head there was a tome they thought, a book of sorts which depicted in word form the reign of this particular king, listing all sorts of things from his marriages to his conquests over the continent.

"Marcus.. that book.. it's.. it's glowing!..."

Stunned, Marcus quickly snapped his attention to the faintly glowing book on the far side of the kings head. Without thinking about it, Marcus reached for it and picked it up, the book instantly glowing brighter and opening on its own to what they determined was the centre of the book. The old language of the Vikings was very difficult to read but both Marcus and Eric had spent many hours researching and learning to language.

Reading briefly the first few lines of text, Marcus looked up shocked at Eric, his breathing quickened somewhat as he stared from Eric to the book and back at Eric.

" Eric.. this .. this is an Eddas.."

Eric's expression quickly changed as he rushed to Marcus' side and began to also read the first few lines of the text. He looked at Marcus then his jaw dropping again as he slowly nodded to his friend.

Closing the book then, Marcus' attention was drawn to a faint glow from within Eric's pack, his eye's widening as he said nothing and pointed at it. Looking down at his pack, Eric saw it too and looked back up at Marcus with stunned amazement at what they had found.

"Marcus.. we have to get these back to Gregory.. we need to get these confirmed as what we think they are...The fact that no one has ever found any more Eddas for a very long time we can not assume too much.."

Marcus frowned a little and looked around the chamber they were in

" What about all this?.. are we really going to leave all of this uncatalogued or run the risk of someone else coming here and looting everything of value and destroying all of this history?"

Eric smiled and pulled a stick of something from his knapsack at his side and waved it slowly in front of him as he smiled broadly and shook his head.

"We aren't going to chance it!.. this will make sure that OUR find stays OURS..come on.. we have to get back to England as fast as possible!"

With that being said, Eric and Marcus began to make their way back the way they had come, moving with speed through the narrow corridors of the cave, moving past places they had slept and other places where they had spent many hours studying and contemplating the finds they had found.

Within an hour they began to see the light of day as the cave began to end and the world began to present itself once again to them. Stepping in to the bright steely light of day covering their eyes somewhat as they let their eyes readjust to just how bright it was outside again, Marcus looked at Eric and smiled, putting a hand on his friends shoulder as they both stood and looked out over the vast countryside of the outside world again, breathing in the fresh spring air for a short time before heading home.


End file.
